Steve O’Neil, the Land Stewardship Project’s first community organizer who went on to serve as a mentor and adviser to the organization for most of its history, lost a battle with cancer on Monday. He was 63. Steve was hired in 1982 by Ron Kroese shortly after Kroese and Victor Ray founded LSP. O’Neil’s first… Read More →
When you’re wallowing in the pit of despair, it helps to know that others have preceded you and survived. And for John and Heidi Wise, they have another pit-beater: they didn’t exactly jump in without giving it some careful forethought. After more than a decade of classes, working with mentors, business planning and searching, the… Read More →
The $1.7 Trillion Landlord: New USDA Data Reveals the Shifting Face of Ownership (3/12/26) Farm Journal reports on new USDA showing a 47% surge in rented farmland value over the past decade, even as the footprint of available acreage shrinks. With $1.7 trillion in assets now held by a shifting demographic of landlords, the landscape… Read More →
As the 2025 session of the Minnesota Legislature heads into its final two weeks — barring a special session — proposals related to several Land Stewardship Project priorities remain alive. Both the House and Senate have passed their respective Agriculture Bills, and now the proposals head into the conference committee process — the system within which lawmakers… Read More →
As the clock struck midnight on Sunday, the Minnesota Legislature concluded its 2024 session. During the past few months, lawmakers primarily focused on revenue-neutral policy changes and some targeted funding of specific programs. During the session, Land Stewardship Project members made some progress on advancing our priorities and built a strong foundation to hit the… Read More →
The Federal Farm Bill is the single most important piece of legislation shaping our farm and food system. It spends over $1.5 trillion on nutrition programs, crop insurance, commodity programs, conservation programs, and more. The next Farm Bill, which could still be passed this spring or by early summer, impacts each and every one of… Read More →
Perhaps no single piece of legislation has a more profound impact on what our landscape and rural communities look like. That’s why LSP’s members are working hard to influence the 2023 Farm Bill (1st of 2 parts). More Information • Ear to the Ground 305: Farm Bill as a Public Good (2nd installment in this… Read More →
SAINT PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota House Agriculture Committee will have a hearing today for Representative Kristi Pursell’s Farm to School and Early Care bill (H.F. 2043), with bipartisan support representing a step forward in supporting local food, schools and economies throughout Minnesota. The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) and the Land Stewardship… Read More →
This past fall, hundreds of Land Stewardship Project members from across Minnesota came together to build a holistic, state policy campaign — the “Minnesota Food and Farm Campaign.” Now, as the 2023 session of the Minnesota Legislature hits its stride, we’re translating our agenda into legislation. LSP is championing 15 bills (so far) to build… Read More →
Jan. 15: An LSP Round-up of News Covering Land, People & Communities Bill Gates: America’s Top Farmland Owner (1/15/21) Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and his wife Melinda Gates are now the largest private farmland owners in the U.S., according to The Land Report. Highlights: They have accumulated a massive farmland portfolio — 242,000 acres —… Read More →
